# You horrible, terrible people...thank you- My first bowl of Penzance



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

So, I have been happy smoking my Frog Morton and 4noggins' Bald Headed Teacher. These were my favorite English blends, absolutely terrific. Somewhere a few steps lower down, I really loved my Margate. No problem, all are easy to find, all are delicious. I was happy.

Then, post after post, thread after thread, about "finally, Penzance is available again." "Oops, it sold out in an hour, but it is available here..." "oops it sold out there, try here". And eventually, I succumbed and bought some, hoping I'd hate it so I won't be like the rest of you Penzance junkies just hoping for an hour window when it will appear at an online retailer so you can get your fix.

I smoked it for the first time today...*I'm hooked*. I will now be one of the pitiful Penzance junkies for whom there is just not enough made, lurking the websites of the online retailers just waiting...waiting...waiting...for it to come back in stock for 20-30min and hoping to be able to jump on it in time.

*OK, here's the review part:

I'm not 100% sure how to describe it, I'm not as poetic as some on this site who taste coffee, and this spice, and that chocolate, etc. in every bowl of pipe tobacco and every cigar they smoke. It just tastes like a latakia English blend should taste. It isn't as spicy as the Oriental heavy Margate also from Esoterica. It is stronger than the very mild Bald Headed Teacher. It actually is somewhat similar to Frog Morton, just night and day better (than a blend that was tied for my favorite before). It is just very good pipe tobacco with a bit of the latakia campfire taste I love, but not too much of it either- it was "just right". It is just plain good tobacco.

My one complaint was in the composition of the flakes. I was kind of looking forward to playing with flakes for the first time in over 10 years. I was going to do the fold and stuff method this first time, next time I would rub it out. Well, these flakes practically disintegrate when you touch them. Makes loading the pipe quite easy, but takes some of the fun out of playing with flakes. It probably does make it a a great "beginner flake".

The tin note is intoxicating. I can't really comment on the room note since I usually smoke outside (and pretty much always smoke my English blends outside, with the occasional exception of Bald Headed Teacher).* ​
So, all I can say is, you bums, you jerks, you bast*rds...You got me hooked on this stuff. I'm now with the rest of you, I'll be emailing Esoterica saying "please, please, when will you release the next batch", I'll be scouring the web, driving hours out of my way hoping to find the B&M with a tin or two. It will probably take over my life. Thank you! 

Oh, btw- anyone have any idea how often a new batch is released? Am I looking at a month or two wait typically, or 6mo to a year? I only bought one tin, and I doubt it will last very long. Even better, anyone know if there is anyplace that still has it in stock? PM it to me if you do so I can get some before everyone else jumps on it.

Thanks again! Seriously, despite the tongue-in-cheek jabs, thank you, I _love_ this stuff!


----------



## Firedawg (Nov 8, 2010)

great review and yeah Penzance is more of a sliced cake than a flake I think. So you still are a virgin in the flake department.


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

A couple things I left out...

I loved this stuff so much I found myself puffing hard and often like a new pipe smoker. I mean, I could barely put it down. In any lesser tobacco my tongue would have been on fire, but no, not even a hint of tongue bite. Brushing my teeth tonight, when sometimes tongue bite I didn't really notice at the time shows up, nothing. I had that wonderful sweet tobacco aftertaste on my tongue all evening, but no tongue bite.

Lighting was fine, I had heard this stuff can be a little wet and I had no problems. I did load my pipe about two hours before I smoked it (I loaded it at home, went for a motorcycle ride and figured I'd find a nice spot at the Annapolis docks to smoke it since it was so nice out, but there were no parking anywhere near downtown so I didn't smoke it 'till I came back home from my ride). I didn't have to relight the pipe even once (though my sprinting style puffing may have helped on that). I ran a cleaner down the stem a couple times but didn't really need to. I was smoking it in a Savinelli with the balsa insert so that may have helped, but I doubt it would have been a problem in any other pipe either.

It was definitely a very mellow, relaxing, and tasty smoke. If it wasn't 3:30am with me up with insomnia on a work night (i.e. I really need to try to sleep) I'd probably go outside for another bowl now that I'm thinking about it. That stuff is good.


----------



## Coffee-Cup (Jan 26, 2010)

Jeff10236 said:


> So, I have been happy smoking my Frog Morton and 4noggins' Bald Headed Teacher. These were my favorite English blends, absolutely terrific. Somewhere a few steps lower down, I really loved my Margate. No problem, all are easy to find, all are delicious. I was happy.
> 
> Then, post after post, thread after thread, about "finally, Penzance is available again." "Oops, it sold out in an hour, but it is available here..." "oops it sold out there, try here". And eventually, I succumbed and bought some, hoping I'd hate it so I won't be like the rest of you Penzance junkies just hoping for an hour window when it will appear at an online retailer so you can get your fix.
> 
> ...


Jeff! I know exactly how you feel.:nod: Commonsenseman introduced me to Penzance and I was hooked after the first puff. This tobacco is pure pleasure in a bowl.:hippie: In reference to your question about availability; other then this month the last time that I bought some was in November 2010 and that was luck-it came and went quickly.:yo:


----------



## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

I think Penzance is what is known as a crumble cake.


----------



## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Great stuff thanks to Don and his generosity i got to try some as well!
Thanks again Don you are a great BOTL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Coffee-Cup said:


> Commonsenseman introduced me to Penzance and I was hooked after the first puff.


Really?!?! He recently helped me get into this fine hobby and one of the samples he sent was Penzance. It smelled great! I've been doing some research and figured out that it is a highly regarded smoke. I've been practicing on some of the simpler samples he sent me and a packet of OTC drug store aromatic in a cob, trying to get my technique down. I didn't want to smoke this until I felt I could treat it properly. I hate waiting! :mmph:


----------



## Rock31 (Sep 30, 2010)

Very cool and thanks for the review, these guys are great!


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Heh, so, I was kind of on the website of a local pipe shop in the city the other day and noticed they said they had a tin of Penzance left, just one they claimed. “Well,” I thought, “they just haven’t bothered to update their website. There’s no way they actually have that.” So, on a whim, after reading this thread, I sent an email to a friend who works right around the corner. “Go over to Grant’s,” I told her, “and see if they have a tin of Penzance. If they do, buy it!” The shop is NOW sold out of Penzance, per their website, but it wasn’t when my friend got there!!!! :bounce:


----------



## Eirik (May 7, 2010)

Whoha.. sounds scary. 
I think I add Margate on the to do list. 
Penzance seems like, I dont know, ...heroine??mg:
Just harder to get...:bawling:


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

It was kind of funny, my friend said that the guy at the counter looked kind of startled when she asked for it and looked around like he was making sure no one was listening and then told her had to get it out of the back. She said he told her she was pretty lucky to get it, as it they don't distribute a lot of it.

I swear, it sounded like something out of a movie, very hush, hush!


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Eirik said:


> Whoha.. sounds scary.
> I think I add Margate on the to do list.
> Penzance seems like, I dont know, ...heroine??mg:
> Just harder to get...:bawling:


Margate is one of my favorites. If you like an English but want to stay away from Penzance, have you tried Frog Morton? Margate and FM are both good stuff. FM was tied with 4noggins for my favorite, Margate was close one or two steps behind. Now, Penzance blows them all out of the water.

I got lucky, a local shop had one at another of their locations and had it sent to my closest shop, so I will have just under a tin and a half. I _really_ hope I can find more soon (preferably a couple 8oz bags).


----------



## funbags (Jan 19, 2011)

Penzance, huh? never heard of it. Is it considered an OTC?


----------



## astripp (Jan 12, 2011)

How often are you smoking an individual mixture? an 8 oz bag is 70-80 bowls worth


----------



## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

funbags said:


> Penzance, huh? never heard of it. Is it considered an OTC?


It's just about the opposite.


----------



## funbags (Jan 19, 2011)

User Name said:


> It's just about the opposite.


would you put it in the same category as that cotton candy blend you so superbly reviewed?


----------



## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

funbags said:


> would you put it in the same category as that cotton candy blend you so superbly reviewed?


Not in a million years. Penzance is a "hoarding" tobacco.


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

astripp said:


> How often are you smoking an individual mixture? an 8 oz bag is 70-80 bowls worth


It varies. Lately, I've had 4-6 tins open and one or two bulks at any time. However, when there is one I love, it gets smoked more heavily than the others. I really do love Penzance. It is usually only available for a short window of time. So, I'd like to buy a lot of it so it can last for a while.

Lately, I have been smoking my pipes at least once, and often several times a day. As we move into spring and summer, I'll probably smoke them a lot less and smoke my cigars a lot more.

So it will stay fresh, I have a supply of Mason jars (I'll probably buy some bigger ones for those tobaccos I've decided to stock in volume- like Penzance once the bags become available again).


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

I'm still loving this stuff, but I had my first unpleasant experience. Everyone seems to say flakes are better in smaller pipes. For the first time I decided to smoke this in one of my larger bowled pipes (a Peterson XL15, not a huge pipe but not a small pipe). I stuffed about 2 1/2 flakes into it and packed it fairly well packed. For the first half (well over an hour of smoking) it was absolute heaven. I was at a local B&M watching a basketball game and enjoying the crowd as well as greatly enjoying the smoke. Well, I wasn't even thinking about the possibility of a nicotine buzz and was a little hungry and I didn't have a drink. *Big* mistake. The combo of such a long, well packed smoke, and no food or drink, and I had a wicked nicotine buzz, and it hit quite suddenly (before the halfway mark it was heaven, at just about exactly the halfway mark, horrible nic buzz). I actually had to stop smoking and I emptied it. I don't think I'll do that again- smaller pipes only for this stuff (and any other flake I smoke).



funbags said:


> would you put it in the same category as that cotton candy blend you so superbly reviewed?


Since you are new here, I wasn't sure if you were joking in the first couple posts. Online, most people seem to have heard of it and it definitely has a cult following. However, I've found a lot of the local B&M's I've asked if they had it didn't even know what I was talking about. Now, with this post, I'm assuming you are joking (if not, Penzance is a _very_ high quality English tobacco, and from what I can gather from the reviews of cotton candy is that it is a very low quality aromatic).


----------



## funbags (Jan 19, 2011)

Happy early April fools everybody!!!!!!! I Actully love Penzance. I ran out of my stash last summer and I really don't appreciate being constantly reminded of the stuff. so please more reviews of that cottoncandy blend everybody.


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

funbags said:


> Happy early April fools everybody!!!!!!! I Actully love Penzance. I ran out of my stash last summer and I really don't appreciate being constantly reminded of the stuff. so please more reviews of that cottoncandy blend everybody.


Last summer? Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that.


----------



## Coffee-Cup (Jan 26, 2010)

funbags said:


> Happy early April fools everybody!!!!!!! I Actully love Penzance. I ran out of my stash last summer and I really don't appreciate being constantly reminded of the stuff. so please more reviews of that cottoncandy blend everybody.


Hey Jake! I have a hard time getting past your avatar; you and several others on this forum have some very provocative avatars.:smile: I have been running around here with "Star Trek's" Captain Kirk and Spock and I am beginning to think that I am missing something here!:hmm: I have to agree with you that Penzance is so so good and I am glad that Jeff (Commonsenseman) introduced me to it. Hang in there and have lots of mason jars "in the ready".:ranger:


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Off work early today, I'm going to head outside and try a bowl of this stuff right now!


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

BrewShooter said:


> Off work early today, I'm going to head outside and try a bowl of this stuff right now!


Oh no!!! Don't do it!!! You'll become a hopeless junkie like the rest of us. I found myself calling every tobacco shop in the area trying to find one with a tin or a bag, I called online shops to see if any had any idea when a shipment might come in. I was very lucky to find one local shop that checked around and had one at another of their locations and they transferred it to the location near me. So, at least I have another tin when (soon) my current tin is finished. Don't do, please spare yourself the aggravation. Of course, it is so very worth it.


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Jeff10236 said:


> Oh no!!! Don't do it!!! You'll become a hopeless junkie like the rest of us. I found myself calling every tobacco shop in the area trying to find one with a tin or a bag, I called online shops to see if any had any idea when a shipment might come in. I was very lucky to find one local shop that checked around and had one at another of their locations and they transferred it to the location near me. So, at least I have another tin when (soon) my current tin is finished. Don't do, please spare yourself the aggravation. Of course, it is so very worth it.


This is pretty funny, this reminds me so much of my other hobby, brewing and enjoying my own and commercial craft beers. Every once in a while I find something that is so wonderful and rare that I almost wish I hadn't tried it in the first place.

I packed up a bowl of this earlier today, but, as I was packing it, I kind of thought it might be a little too moist. I was right, the first part of the bowl was difficult and I also felt like the draw was a little hard. I put the pipe aside and headed out to run a few errands, hoping that it would dry out a little while I was away. It did.

My second attempt was more successful, but I do think I had it packed too tight and I was relighting fairly often. Next time I might leave it out to dry before filling and use a lighter touch on the pack. I'm definitely a noob when it comes to tasting all the complex flavors of a tobacco. The few I've had so far were enjoyable, but I didn't feel like there were huge differences in flavor. That being said, while I may have missed some of the complexities on this, I definitely was aware of this smokey, sitting around the campfire, flavor that I hadn't seen in my other samples. Is that the latakia? If so, I like it! I really see a lot of similarities with this and my beer hobby. Initially I was not able to identify some of the more subtle flavors in beer, but, with time, I've gotten better at picking out little nuances that have increased my enjoyment.

I'm anxious to give this a few more bowls, particularly as I get more proficient with the pipe. Actually, I'm noticing something a little different as I'm typing this. The other samples I tried left an aftertaste in my mouth, not unpleasant, but also not anything I wanted to keep around. Right now I'm still tasting this wonderfully smokey flavor and have no desire to get rid of it anytime soon. Yeah, very nice, I'm glad I was able to find a tin of this locally, because I can see where this one could earn a permanent place in my collection..if I can every find any!!! :mrgreen:


----------



## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

BrewShooter said:


> This is pretty funny, this reminds me so much of my other hobby, brewing and enjoying my own and commercial craft beers. Every once in a while I find something that is so wonderful and rare that I almost wish I hadn't tried it in the first place.
> 
> I packed up a bowl of this earlier today, but, as I was packing it, I kind of thought it might be a little too moist. I was right, the first part of the bowl was difficult and I also felt like the draw was a little hard. I put the pipe aside and headed out to run a few errands, hoping that it would dry out a little while I was away. It did.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I've found it smokes better after sitting for an hour or two. It is my first flake, and I have noticed that I have to pack it a lot lighter than I would another tobacco.

The smoky flavor is the latakia. I _love_ a good latakia "spiced" English. I love winter and the smell of a fireplace, I love camping and the smell of a campfire, I love grilling out with real wood based charcoal. Latakia is reminiscent of all of these, so I guess that may be why I love it so much.

I will _have_ to buy one of the 8oz bags the next time they become available.


----------



## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Jeff10236 said:


> The smoky flavor is the latakia. I _love_ a good latakia "spiced" English. I love winter and the smell of a fireplace, I love camping and the smell of a campfire, I love grilling out with real wood based charcoal. Latakia is reminiscent of all of these, so I guess that may be why I love it so much.


I agree, I really enjoyed that smokey flavor, like I was out by the grill.


----------

